Sprintin’ Sirloin — Making a dash for the finish line in the New Hampshire Fisher Cats T-Bones vs. Cactus Jacks Mascot Race.

Why is this steak smiling? Proud that New Hampshire has its very own meat mascot in the tradition of the Milwaukee Brewers Famous Racing Sausages and the Pittsburgh Pirates Racing Pierogis, I recently got inside the T-Bones restaurant costume to find out.

I’m sworn to secrecy about the outcome of the race until the August issue of New Hampshire Magazine hits the newsstands later this month. But I can tell you why the steak’s (my) hand is in front of his mouth below. It’s not because he’s bashful or because he’s burping.

It’s because that mesh screen above the steak’s eyebrows — the costume’s only ventilation and visibility window — kept bouncing up and down as I ran, leaving me blindfolded if I didn’t pull the costume taut over my face.

Rock Cats outfielder Eduardo Nunez, on a rehab assignment from the Minnesota Twins, watches his turf get invaded by a steak, a cactus and a fisher cat — all of them in running shoes.

Thanks to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats for humoring me with this athletic opportunity. For baseball trivia buffs, that’s Minnesota Twins “Super-Utility Man” Eduardo Nunez watching the race action above as he pretends to be focused on his warmup tosses. We also ran straight past Twins outfielder Aaron Hicks, who was on rehab with the Rock Cats as well.

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